Obviously noone can ever accuse you of not being thorough,Usual. I saw
those latest studies findings before. But I won't argue with my own
cessation of colds following the regime I outlined. At the risk of
getting a whiplash reply , out of curiosity where does this
scrutinising varied knowledge base of yours come from...
professional/hobby/or....?

On Wed, 31 Aug 2005 13:13:47 GMT, usual suspect >
wrote:

>Joe wrote:
>> Like I said it works for me
>
>Anecdotal. Last refuge of a true believer.
>
>> and apparently many others,
>
>Anecdotal. Last refuge of a true believer.
>
>> and if others
>> prefer not to even try it out and instead religiously have 1 or 2
>> colds a year,
>
>There's nothing "religious" about having a cold, but there IS something
>devoutly religious about the *blind faith* that pseudoscientific
>bullshit remedies like echinacea or homeopathy are beneficial.
>
> Colds are caused by a group of bugs known as rhinoviruses. There
> are 101 strains, and every time a rhinovirus infects you, your
> immune system produces protective antibodies. From then on,
> youre immune to that strain.
>
> The problem is that there are 100 other rhinos (as researchers
> call them) waiting to leap into your nasal passages. So even if
> you get two colds a year, it would take more than half a century
> to run through all the strains.
>
> €œIts hard to find something that will effectively kill the
> virus,€� says Purdue University chemist Carol Post, who studies
> anti-cold compounds. €œThere are so many different types.€�
>
> And rhinos are only part of the story. Two other types of bug,
> the coxsackievirus and adenovirus, also cause coldlike symptoms.
> There are about 10 each of these, which adds up to a lot more
> sniffles before youre immune....
>
> Humans dont like being told theres no cure for their coughs
> and sore throats.
>
> So theyve turned to a variety of alternative treatments, such
> as echinacea, zinc and vitamin C. Americans bought more than
> $150 million worth of echinacea last year, according to the
> €œNutrition Business Journal.€�
>
> The problem is that none of these treatments works €“ at least
> not if you believe in scientific studies.
>
> The latest echinacea study, in the New England Journal of
> Medicine, examined 399 adults who had been exposed to cold
> viruses. The patients were broken into four groups. Three got
> different echinacea preparations and one group got a placebo.
> About 90 percent of the subjects came down with colds, and the
> echinacea takers did *no better* than those on the placebo.
>
> €œWe dont think echinacea is an effective drug,€� said University
> of Michigan epidemiologist Arnold Monto. He was not involved in
> this study but did one two years ago that came to a similar
> conclusion.
> full article: http://tinyurl.com/cgw4q
>
>> I'll slap a 'rolls eyes emoticon' sticker on their nose.
>
>And that's probably just as convincing to them as your anecdotes are to me.
>
>> Perhaps the research is misconducted
>
>Repeated studies have shown no -- ZERO, ZIP, NADA -- benefit of
>echinacea. Dittos for homeopathy. Your anecdotes are not evidence to the
>contrary.
>
><snip>